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Hell hath no fury

Angela Parker

“You look so pretty, mama”, a soft voice sounded behind Angela as she finished getting ready to leave the house.

The woman who was standing in front of the mirror turned around and smiled at her daughter. Stopping what she was doing - getting her make-up just right -, Angela Parker picked the little girl up and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, baby”, she replied with a big smile.

After a few seconds of kisses and a tight hug, Angela placed her daughter down gently and walked back to the mirror. Her make-up was pretty basic, and it didn’t take too long before she was done.

“Where are you going today, mama?”, her daughter asked again. Angie sat down on the bet to get her shoes on. “This place where they serve Japanese food. You know, gonna eat raw fish and like it”, she joked, laughing at her daughter’s disgusted expression. “I wish I could come too”, the little girl muttered softly. Angie shook her head and looked back at her daughter once she was done with the shoes. “Don’t say that, Sally, you know how much fun you and dad will have while I’m gone. You guys can do all kinds of fun things and I won’t be here to yell at anyone”. It was obviously a joke, as Angie wasn’t the yelling type.

After this short conversation, Angie checked herself on the mirror again - the dark blue dress matching the shoes and purse - and then picked little Sally up. “Come on, I’ll say bye to dad, and you keep an eye on him while I’m out there, and tell me everything he does”.

Angie was still speaking as she walked down to the living room with her daughter clinging on to her. It was pretty routine for every night out, so Angie didn’t really mind, as Sally had never caused trouble when the time came for her to walk out the door. Once down, she would set Sally down and walk to her husband for a kiss. “I’m about to go out, honey, do you need anything before I go?”, she asked, since even though Jake was able to keep everything under control, Angie always worried that they might need something while she was out.

While his wife was getting ready for her girls' night out, Jacob "Jake" Turner was sitting on his couch. He was watching a game on the DVR, in between texting.

~Hey, I miss you. Have fun tonight. Tell Nicky I'll be at his game on Friday. Love you both.~

When Jake heard Angela and Sally coming down the stairs, he pocketed his phone. He paused the game and stood up. He saw his daughter clinging to her mother. Sally never clung to him like that, Jake thought. Angie worked at home and Sally was still young enough to spend a majority of her day with her mommy. He understood why they were close but it also made him feel a little jealous. His job kept him from home a lot and Sally didn't seem to mind him leaving her. Still, Jake put on a happy smile and gave Angie a kiss.

"Angie, you know our princess is always good and we'll be fine. Have fun tonight. Love you."

He told her and then turned to his daughter.

"So, shall we continue to watch the game or did you have something else in mind for us?"
He knew his daughter well enough to know she wouldn't want to watch the game. She wasn't into sports at all. Sally always looked bored when he watched them. Nicholas enjoyed watching them with him. Sometimes he and Nicky would watch games on TV and Abby, Nicholas' mother, enjoyed watching them too. Another thing he had in common with her.

Abigail "Abby" Walters texted her boyfriend, Jake Turner, back. He worked long hours and she didn't get to see him as often as she'd like, but he rarely missed any of her son's games. She thought Nicholas liked that. The more people cheering him and his team on, the better. Wednesdays were the one day of the week she knew she wouldn't see Jake. He always visited his mother on that day. Some day Abby would like to meet his mother but she respected his wish for it not to be yet. Jake's wife had passed away and he was worried she might think he was moving on from Angie too soon. Good things came to those who waited, Abby thought. She had waited a long time since her divorce from her son's father to really date again and it had been worth it. She had met Jake.

Her older sister was in town and they were going out. It had been a while since they had chance to hang out. Her niece, Brenda, was sixteen and old enough to take care of herself and Nicky for a few hours. Both sisters were both dressed in nice dresses.

"All right, you two, we're heading out. Behave yourselves."

Abby's sister, Karen, told the two. Both kids nodded their heads. Abby gave Nicholas a hug.

"Be good, kid. Love you."

"Love you too, Mom."

Nicholas replied.

"Oh, before I forget, Jake said he'll be at your game Friday."

Abby added as she grabbed her purse. Nicholas smiled.

"Awesome."

Nicholas said. He liked his mom's boyfriend. Both children told their mothers bye. They planned to play video games and watch a movie while their mothers were out.

Angie ParkerAngie couldn’t help but smile when Jake said Sally was always good. He did have a point, and she was really proud of their little girl. “You’re right, honey, I know I don’t have anything to worry about”, she replied, before pinching her husband’s cheek in a loving manner. “Love you too, baby, you guys have fun as well”, Angie completed before leaving the house.Inside, Sally made the usual groaning sound she often made when her father invited her to watch sports. The girl loved spending time with her daddy, but sports were just incredibly boring for her.“Sports are boring, daddy”, Sally replied, as usual. “Can’t we play something, or watch something else?”, the girl suggested, her big eyes, so similar to Angie’s, staring at the man’s face for a reaction. Out of the house, Angie set her phone to silent, as she always did when she was about to drive, and got in her car - a red Beetle she called Ladybug as a joke. It didn’t take long at all to reach the place where the girls would meet for the night. The only constant was that the meetings happened on Wednesdays, but the places were always changed so nobody would get bored. This place had opened recently, and after some talk here and there, the group had decided to check it out and see if it deserved to be included in their list of nice restaurants to go to every now and then. Angie also planned on going there with Jake for a date night if it was really as good as it seemed.Once she had parked, Angie went to the entrance to check for the reservations that had been made. As usual, she had been the first one to get to the restaurant, so she allowed herself to be led to the table and texted Jake briefly. ~‘I’m at the restaurant, made it safe, honey. Let me know if you want me to bring something back. Love you lots’~. Once she had sent the message, Angie started checking the menu for what the place offered.

Abby and Karen arrived at the restaurant and Abby sent Brenda text message.

~Your mom and I are here. Have fun and if you need anything, just call.~

Abby wasn't used to leaving her son with others. If she wasn't with him, it was usually because he was either at school or with Derek, his father. Even when he was with her ex husband, she was in constant contact with him. Abby only had one child and she was very protective of him. Karen sighed at her.

"Brenda babysits toddlers all the time, I pretty sure she can handle Nicky."

Abby put her phone in her purse as they got out Karen's car.

"I know, I know. I just...You know how I am."

Abby loved her son very much and was very hands on. But it also meant she was very protective. Karen smiled at her.

"I know and you're a good mom. The kids will be fine, though. Let's have some fun."

Abby nodded her head with a smile.

"Yeah, you're right."

Plus, she trusted that her niece would call if something bad happened. She and Karen headed inside the restaurant. It was a recently opened restaurant and Abby hadn't had a chance to eat here before. Maybe if it had good food, sometime she and Jake could go here on a date.

Jake replied to Angie and saw her out. He did have fun with his daughter, even she didn't share a lot of his interests. He resisted the urge to groan himself when Sally gave her usual reaction to his suggestion about watching a sports game. The only time he could ever watch a game in one setting was if he stayed up late to do it or watched them with Abby and Nicholas. He wished she'd give it a chance but he gave up on that a while go. He gave her a small smile and messed up her hair a little with his hand.

"I know you think that, sweetie."

Jake didn't think sports were boring, but he had learned a while go to hide his disappointment that his daughter didn't share one of his biggest interests. Sally looked so much like her mother when she looked at him like that, he thought. Jake truly did love his daughter and wanted to spend time with her. He asked her.

"Well, what would you like to do? It's our date night, we can do whatever you want."

At the restaurant, Angie was sitting at the table they had reserved for the night and checking the menu when the two other women walked in. Looking up, the woman waved to Karen and waited for the women to come closer before standing up.

“Hey there, Karen!”, she greeted with her usual enthusiasm. She had known Karen for a while, and considered the other woman a good friend.

After greeting her friend, Angie turned to the other woman. Abby would see a blonde around her age, with a friendly expression and a warm demeanor. “Hey there, new face! Nice meeting you, I’m Angela!”, she greeted, happy to make a new possible friend. “Come on, girls, let’s sit down. How do you two find this place? I like how it looks so far, and hopefully they have good food”, the woman who had introduced herself as Angela commented in a rapid-fire pattern of speech as she sat back down.

Back home, Sally smiled when Jake said he knew she found sports boring. She was still too young to pick up on certain cues, and had no idea her dad was frustrated by her lack of interest in sports, something he loved. Had she known that it upset him when she said those things, Sally would probably have tried to suck it up, at least for a while. For now, though, she was completely oblivious to any unspoken cues.

When Jake said it was their date night and they could do anything she wanted, Sally planted a kiss on her father’s cheek. “Thanks, daddy, I love you”, she replied spontaneously, before sitting next to him again. “We can play a game, or you can tell me things”, the little girl suggested. “Mom and I talk a lot about things, like how you have met, and how your lives were before… why don’t you tell me things about your life too?”, she asked, looking at Jake with those big, curious eyes.

Jake did wish his daughter shared more of his interests, but he supposed he was partially to blame she didn't. He worked hard to make sure she and Angie had a good life. That kept him out of the house, a lot. Which meant that Sally naturally shared more of her mother's interests. He couldn't entirely be angry about that, Angie was a good mother. It just made him feel left out in his own family.

Jake kissed her forehead back and told Sally.

"I love you too."

He truly did. Even as he enjoyed to spend more time with Abby and her son, he couldn't just leave. He did love Sally and she's what kept him in this house. If not for her....He probably would have already left. He couldn't bear the idea of not being able to see his daughter every day. Even if sometimes he only saw her enough to have breakfast with her and got home to tuck her into bed.

Jake resisted the urge to make a face about telling her about his life. A big part of his life was Abby Walters and he couldn't tell his daughter about her. Instead, he said.

"Well, I work, a lot. And it's pretty boring. Unless you want me to tell you all about accounting and tax laws."

He had a feeling she wouldn't and headed to the game closet. He found Candyland and said.

Sally showed a bright smile when her father said he loved her too. She was sure that he did, even though they didn’t spend as much time together as Sally spent with her mom. Dad was often out of the house, so she only saw him in the mornings and at night. As mom worked from home, Sally spent the entire day around her, talking, and getting lots of attention from her mother.

She had tried to talk to Jake, but his evasive answer didn’t encourage the little girl. She gave up on asking, and would ask mom about what dad did for work later, she decided.

When Jake returned to her with Candyland, Sally nodded. “I do, but don’t cheat!”, she replied, looking up at the man. “Mom cheats”, she completed, as though it was a big secret. No, she didn’t really think ‘mom’ cheated, but it was fun to say it while she was away.

Angie was really happy to see Karen. She hadn’t seen the other woman in a long time, but they used to be really good friends back in college. It was great to see her, and at a place where they would be able to bond for a while. Karen’s sister looked like a really nice person as well.

After greeting Karen with a hug, Angie did the same to Abby. “It’s a real pleasure, Abby”, she replied gently to the woman’s greeting.

When Karen said she had never been to the place, Angie nodded. “From what I can tell, it’s a pretty new place. I love checking new places out, and it’s not too far from home, so I decided to come”.

Turning to Abby, Angie smiled. “I have actually taken the evening to simple dine out without the kid”, she explained, shaking her head. “The husband and I each have a day off from each other a week, it keeps us sane”, Angie commented, rolling her eyes. “Don’t get me wrong, I have a nice life. But working at home makes you insane if you don’t plan on going anywhere every now and then. But maybe writing a review wouldn’t be a bad idea”.

Once she had made this comment, Angie turned her attention to Abby. She loved meeting new people, and she felt that Abby was the kind of person she would enjoy talking to. “What about you?”, Angie asked curiously. “Any kiddos to speak of?”.